Tommy Brown has his Orangeburg-Wilkinson Bruins figured out pretty good.

Boasting a record of 5-1 heading into tonight’s 7:30 road game at Lexington, that much is easy to see. Still, there’s one thing he can’t figure out -- why colleges aren’t calling about his 6-4, 180-pound star senior receiver, Clayton Gidron.

 

“I just don’t understand,” Brown said Wednesday night. “His academics are strong. He has great size, great hands and he runs great routes.

 

“He’s a great kid,” he added. “We are talking about a great student, a good athlete and around school he is a leader. He is just the ideal student athlete that you would want in your program. He is the complete package.”

 

And, what college wouldn’t want the complete package? Well, right now few are biting on Gidron, but when they do come -- and Brown said he feels for sure they will -- they figure to get a pretty good player. Heading into tonight’s game, Gidron has 27 catches for 406 yards and three touchdowns.

 

“Carolina, I think, has a feel on him and Furman and Middle Tennessee have called,” Brown said. “Somebody is going to get a jewel. I’m just surprised a lot of people aren’t on him. I guess that has to do with the fact that he didn’t catch a lot of passes last year and maybe that kind of hurt him, but he is taking advantage of this year’s opportunities.”

 

As the go-to guy in Brown’s spread offense, Gidron has displayed the ability to make just about every pass thrown by quarterback Jayson Leverett look like a good one.

 

“He has made some catches that have amazed me,” Brown said.

 

Ask Clayton Gidron about football though, and he makes it clear that things start in the classroom. His mother, Vicky Gidron, wouldn’t have it any other way. His grades are good, and they are going to stay that way.

 

“I don’t have a choice in that,” he said with a laugh. “She stays on me. She gets our grade reports every week.”

 

As for the play on the field, Gidron gives much of the credit for his personal success to his teammates. That’s not to say he isn’t aware of the type of year he is having. He wants to play on the next level, and with his opportunities to impress colleges dwindling he knows what he’s done and what he needs to do heading into each Friday night.

 

“You know, you have to play every game like it’s your last,” he said. “I’m trying to make up for last year, and this is my last go around. I have to leave it all on the field.”

 

All of the above makes for a pretty solid story on a pretty good player, but here’s the scariest thing about Gidron. There’s two of him. Well, there’s two of them. When Clayton, who had 45 tackles on defense a season ago, and the offense leave the field, his twin brother Clinton -- who has 31 tackles, four sacks and a defensive touchdwon this season -- comes onto the field. It makes for four quarters of Gidron-filled trouble.

 

“I feel great playing with (Clayton),” Clinton Gidron said. “It’s hard to explain. It’s like we feed off each other. When he does something great I feel like we need to do something better. Together we just keep playing better.”

 

The hope is somebody will notice that along the way.

 

“It would be a blessing to play on the next level,” Clinton Gidron said. “As long as I get my education first, I’d love to play.”

 

“Clemson is my dream school,” Clayton said. “I just like their team. They play with a lot of energy. But, I’m definitely listening if anybody is offering.”

 

T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder can be reached via e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553. Check out his blog, Welcome to Linderland, at www.thetandd.com.

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